June 28, 2005
Erica Hupp
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358/1237)
Dewayne Washington/Adam Mahone
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-0040/0746)
RELEASE: 05-164
NASA ANNOUNCES RESEARCH AGREEMENT WITH LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
NASA announced today an agreement with Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
Pa. It gives NASA researchers access to Lehigh's cutting-edge
nanotechnology and electron microscopy facilities.
The collaboration will help NASA develop technologies for the James
Webb Space Telescope (JWST), future Mars rovers and spacecraft.
The unique facilities at Lehigh's Center for Advanced Materials and
Nanotechnology provide an excellent opportunity for NASA to expand
its capabilities without the expense of building or acquiring
facilities.
"It takes time and money to build labs like Lehigh's," said researcher
Dr. Brian Jamieson of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in
Greenbelt, Md. "We often work with universities, and agreements like
this one let NASA benefit from their investment while giving
something back to the school."
One of the many instruments for the JWST, scheduled to replace the
Hubble Space Telescope in 2011, is the Near Infrared Spectrograph
(NIRSpec). The instrument has an aperture of an array of
microshutters. It will be used to study galaxy and star formation,
chemical abundances, active galactic nuclei and more.
NASA also has access to Lehigh's Nano and Micro-Mechanical Behavior
Laboratory (NMBL). The lab has unique tools for studying the
properties and mechanics of thin films. These include a tool for
sputter deposition of metal alloy films of arbitrary composition, and
several instruments that can characterize the mechanical behavior of
nanometer-thick metal films over a wide range of temperatures, with
unparalleled resolution.
"The behavior of thin films under these conditions is a virtually
untapped area of research," said GSFC engineer Michael Beamesderfer.
"This research collaboration will provide us with a very useful
understanding of the thin film materials used in the microshutters
and will also begin to build a foundation for materials selection for
future missions," he added.
NASA researchers also will use Lehigh's NMBL to test miniaturized
low-leakage valves for use in mass spectrometers and other science
instruments. "Mass spectrometers could be used on a rover to
understand the chemistry of Mars, such as whether the methane that's
been observed is biogenic," Jamieson said. "Working with Lehigh will
help us to improve the valve interface to ensure the seals are
effective after repeatedly opening and closing."
Goddard's Lead nanotechnology researcher Dan Powell plans to establish
an operation interface to enable access to Lehigh's instrument from
GSFC facilities in Greenbelt. The ability for off-site study of
micro- and nano-scale structures should demonstrate the potential for
space-based remote microscopy.
"This kind of real-time remote access to cutting-edge equipment is
great for NASA," Powell said. "Not only does it minimize our
infrastructure costs, which is a benefit to the taxpayer, but it also
allows us to establish an ongoing relationship that will continue to
benefit NASA well into the future."
For information about JWST or nanotechnology on the Internet, visit:
http://www.jwst.nasa.gov
http://www.lehigh.edu/nano
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
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